Ironclad C.S.S. Virginia

C.S.S. Virginia
"The Rebel Monster"
:CSA1stNat:
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Development
Type and class:
Casemate Ironclad Ram with Steam Powered Screw Propulsion​
Misidentified As: the "Merrimack", or the "Merrimac"
Ships in Class: One​
Keel laid: 1855 as U.S.S. Merrimack
Acquisition: Seized by the Confederates in April 1861 as part of the abandoned Gosport Navy Yard​
Salvaged From: the sunken, burned hulk, and machinery of the U.S.S. Merrimack
Shipyard: Gosport Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia​
Raised: May 30, 1861 and put in drydock​
Authorized: June 23, 1861 by the Confederate States Secretary of the Navy, Steven R. Mallory​
Designers:
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Lieutenant John M. Brooke, C.S. Navy (primary designer, responsible for iron plating design and heavy ordnance)​
Naval Constructor John Luke Porter (given overall responsibility for the conversion to an ironclad)​
Chief Engineer William Price Williamson (responsible for the ship's machinery)​
Design Patented: C.S. Patent No. 100 to John M. Brooke of Richmond, VA for Ship of War, dated July 29, 1862​
Reconstruction Cost: $172,523.00 as appropriated by the Confederate Congress​
Overseeing Salvage and Reconstruction: Flag Officer French Forrest, Commander of the Gosport Naval Shipyard, C.S. Navy​
Career
Commissioned: February 17, 1862 as C.S.S. Virginia
Launched: March 8, 1862​
Operator: Confederate States Navy​
Roles: Blockade Breaking, Blue Water Operations, Fleet Support, Hunter, Direct-Attack, Specialized / Utility​
Length of Service: 64 days​
(From date of Launch, to date Scuttled. Includes 25 days of repairs and upgrades completed in dry dock, March / April 1862)​
Commanding Officers:
- Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan - February 24 to March 8, 1862​
He was wounded by shrapnel on first day of the Battle of Hampton Roads​
- The Executive Officer, Lieutenant Catesby ap Roger Jones - March 9th​
A temporary command for second day of the Battle of Hampton Roads, including the duel with U.S.S. Monitor
- Flag Officer Josiah Tattnall - March 25 until May 11​
He ordered the ship destroyed to keep it out of Union hands.​
Compliment: 320 officers and men​
Victories: 2 Ships Sunk or Destroyed, 3 Ships Damaged or Run Aground, 3 Un-named Transports Destroyed​
U.S.S. Cumberland - Sunk after Ramming, Shelling, March 8​
Three Union Transports Destroyed, March 8​
U.S.S. Congress - Run Aground, Shelled, Surrendered, Destroyed by Fire, March 8​
U.S.S. Minnesota - Run Aground, Damaged by Shot, March 8 & 9​
U.S.S. St. Lawrence - Damaged by Shot, March 8​
U.S.S. Dragon - Severely Damaged by Shot, March 9​
Sorties: 5​
March 8 - Maiden Voyage. Engagement with U.S.S. Cumberland and U.S.S. Congress at Hampton Roads​
March 9 - Engagement with U.S.S. Monitor at Hampton Roads​
April 11 - The Virginia enters Hampton Roads. Federal transports flee the harbor to the protection of Fort Monroe. U.S.S. Monitor stays in the channel but does not accept the Virginia's challenge.​
May 8 - C.S.S. Virginia steams down the Elizabeth River from Gosport Navy Yard to contest the Navy’s advance and stays out of Hampton Roads hoping to engage U.S.S. Monitor.​
May 11 - Attempting to escape up the James River, after Gosport is reclaimed by the Union Army, the Virginia can't be made light enough to travel as far as planned up the shallow part of the river. Trapped, with no escape, the ship was scuttled, and fired, causing a great explosion, destroying the ship.​
Fate:
Scuttled and destroyed by fire/explosion to prevent capture by Union Forces near Craney Island, Virginia on May 11, 1862.​
Current Disposition:
The wreck of the Virginia was largely removed in sections between 1866 and 1876.​
The anchor and propeller shaft of the Virginia can be seen at the American Civil War Museum in Richmond, Virginia​

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Specifications

Length: 262.9 feet​
(shortened from the original 275 feet of the Merrimack)​
Beam: 38 ft 6 inches​
Depth of Hold: 22 feet​
Draft:
22 feet fully loaded​
about 19 1/2 feet with ballast and coal removed​
Displacement: 4,500 tons​
Propulsion:
Previously condemned by the U.S. Government, and recovered from the muddy riverbed​
Heating was provided by 16 furnaces​
Steam provided by 4 Martin type fire-box coal boilers, with an average steam pressure of 18 lbs.​
Power created by 2 West Point Foundry built, horizontal, back acting, two cylinder, 72" diameter piston, 3' stroke, steam engines, able to produce a combined estimated 1,300 shaft horsepower​
1 twin-bladed Griffith’s screw propeller measuring 17 feet 4 inches in diameter​
Speed: typical maximum 5 knots​
Range: about 150 miles​
Turning Circle: Radius of about 1 mile, completing a full circle in about 45 minutes​
Armor:
Deck - 4 inch Iron Plate​
Casemate - 24-inch oak reinforced by a 2x2 inch layer of iron plate angled at 36 degrees from horizontal​
Skirt - 1-inch iron plate under the casemate, to the waterline prior to Battle of Hampton Roads; or 2-inch iron plate below the casemate down 3 feet below the waterline after reinforcement​
(depending on the situation, the Virginia did expose some of it's lower wood hull above the waterline)​
Armament:
two 12-pounder deck howitzers were placed on each side nearest the furnaces​
two 7-inch Brooke rifles mounted on bow and stern pivots, each weighting in at 14,500 pounds​
two 6.4-inch Brooke rifles positioned along the port and starboard sides for firing broadside volleys​
six 9-inch Dahlgren Shell Guns salvaged from the old Merrimack
one 2-foot long 1,500 lb. iron ram, attached to the bow of the ship, mounted 2-feet below the surface of the water​

Featured Videos

Model of the C.S.S. Virginia’s Steam Engines

citation information The following information is provided for citations.
Article Title:
C.S.S. Virginia
Article Subject:
Civil War Naval Ships
Author:
Mike Kendra, @CivilWarTalk
Website Name:
CivilWarTalk.com
URL:
https://civilwartalk.com/threads/c-s-s-virginia.177802/
Publisher:
CivilWarTalk, LLC
Original Published Date:
September 23, 2020


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Regarding the whole "Merrimack"/"Virginia" thing-- my introduction to the topic was William C. Davis's excellent Duel Between the First Ironclads (which, though, I think should have been entitled The First Duel Between Ironclads-- just a minor change in word order, but much better). Right on the cover, Davis called her "the Confederacy's Virginia, the redesigned and rebuilt U.S.S. Merrimack," so there was never a question in my mind what her proper name was. I often try to cite her as Virginia (ex-Merrimack) for a similar reason.

But as Andy noted, the alliteration of "Monitor and Merrimack" might be one of the factors. I merely note that "Merrimack" is a very Yankee name, being the name of a river in Massachusetts. :laugh:
 
Thank you
Hi John! I somehow missed the fact you were posting as a CWT member! Welcome to the fleet-- er, community! XD I had the honor of meeting you a couple of years ago when I grabbed an opportunity to go inside the Monitor's turret tank when they drained it for a bit. Your (signed) Sink Before Surrender and The Monitor Boys occupy a proud position on my shelves. :thumbsup:
....thank you
 
I noted about the damage the CSS VIRGINIA wrought on 8-9 March 1862. So, here goes what my research indicates:
Transports: REINDEER, captured; WHILDEN sunk; and ARRAGO sunk.
Capital ships: Sunk: USS CONGRESS and USS CUMBERLAND. Damaged: USS ST. LAWRENCE, USS MINNESOTA, and USS MONITOR
Gunboats/tugs: Sunk: USS DRAGON (later raised). Damaged: USS ZOUAVE and USS WHITEHALL

No other ironclad in the Confederate navy appeared a record like the VIRGINIA. That is why 'ram fever' was born.

JVQ
I believe that the Reindeer was captured by the Virginia's two gunboat companions.
 
There is a Merrimac Shores out there in Virginia. It has probably been incorporated into Hampton, or Virginia Beach, I can't remember.
Lubliner.
Merrimac Shores is a sub-division in Hampton, Virginia....all the street names leading to Chesapeake Ave are those of individuals and ships associated with the 8-9 March 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads. I lived at 4202 Chesapeake Ave(my family owned the house for over 40 years)....overlooking Hampton Roads. I used to sit on our beach and marvel as I could see Fort Monroe, Fort Wool, Sewell's Point and Newport News Point. I wrote my book BATTLE OF THE IRONCLADS and much of the CSS VIRGINIA living there. My home now is on the Hampton River...1757 Herbert House from which you could have witnessed the battle.

JVQ
 
Regarding the whole "Merrimack"/"Virginia" thing-- my introduction to the topic was William C. Davis's excellent Duel Between the First Ironclads (which, though, I think should have been entitled The First Duel Between Ironclads-- just a minor change in word order, but much better). Right on the cover, Davis called her "the Confederacy's Virginia, the redesigned and rebuilt U.S.S. Merrimack," so there was never a question in my mind what her proper name was. I often try to cite her as Virginia (ex-Merrimack) for a similar reason.

But as Andy noted, the alliteration of "Monitor and Merrimack" might be one of the factors. I merely note that "Merrimack" is a very Yankee name, being the name of a river in Massachusetts. :laugh:
I could write about 10 pages on this topic...but, please note:

*USS MERRIMACK was named for the Merrimack River in New Hampshire. When the river enters into Massachusetts it is known as the Merrimac River. I know that the proper name for this steam screw frigate was USS MERRIMACK for two reasons: President Franklin Pierce of Merrimack County, New Hampshire signed the bill to pay for the construction of the MERRIMACK-class frigates; and if you review the ship's plans each sheet says USS MERRIMACK. On 17 February 1862 the ironclad reconfigured from the MERRIMACK was commissioned as the CSS VIRGINIA.

jvq
 
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